Our Monday green news brings you the latest on nutrition, good causes and child education:

Health Benefits of learning other languages: A new study by Scottish researchers recently published in the journal Annals of Neurology, adds to an existing evidence that people speaking two or more languages have better mental faculties and show greater intelligence in later life than those who only speak one language. The researchers examined data on a group of 853 people who took psychological and intelligence tests in 1947 at the age of 11 and then again recently in their 70s. The most impressive outcomes were seen in overall intelligence and also in reading.

Fighting poverty one bowl of soup at a time: In 2001 Millie Mims founded a grassroots non-profit organization New Life Society in the mountain community of Badger, California, with mission to provide “food, shelter, nurturing, and employment for persons experiencing urban poverty.” For the majority of the last decade their efforts were mainly focused on providing meals. As Ms. Mims explains: “We were giving food just because it was the only thing within my budget and I love to cook. There’s a lot of hungry people there. Sometimes there are 30 or 40 people already lined up waiting for us.” These days, people in need come every single day. Each day begins with a preparation of an 8 gallon pot of homemade soup made with fresh ingredients donated from local farmers markets and organic grocery stores. Ms. Mims also prepares more than two gallons of salad and rice. Most days, she does the cooking herself; sometimes she does get help for few days a week from another volunteer.

Chilled Fruit Salad with CoconutThis easy recipe for a chilled fruit salad with coconut chips and coconut water is a sweet, crunchy, colorful way to get your kids excited about eating a variety of fruit.